checarvscheirarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“checar” and “cheirar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#11,227
“checar” frequency rank
#14,536
“cheirar” frequency rank
25763
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature checar cheirar
Definition estabelecer a veracidade, correção ou realidade de; conferir, verificar aspirar o cheiro de; farejar; pesquisar; revelar

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set checar and cheirar apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
checar
7 ch
cheirar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

checar and cheirar are indexed as a confusable Portuguese pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25763, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

checar is recorded at frequency rank #11,227, classified as averb. cheirar is at rank #14,536, tagged as averb, pronounced /ʃɐj.ˈɾaɾ/.

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 25763, this pair ranks #43,489 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of checar vs cheirar

Shared letters: acehr. Private to "checar": -. Private to "cheirar": i.

"checar" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "cheirar" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • checarcchecar · cehcar · chcear · cheacr · checarr · checcar · checra · chhecar
  • cheirarccheirar · cehirar · cheiarr · cheirarr · cheirra · cheirrar · cheriar · chheirar

Frequency comparison

checar#11,227
cheirar#14,536

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "checar" and "cheirar" be used interchangeably?
No. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Which is more common, "checar" or "cheirar"?
"checar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,227 in our Portuguese list, against #14,536 for "cheirar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering checar vs cheirar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “checar” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list